


A Rose By Any Other Name

by thedoctorofsteel



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, Episode: The Day of the Doctor, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-25
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-03-25 18:15:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3820096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedoctorofsteel/pseuds/thedoctorofsteel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Moment becomes more than just The Moment and the Doctor is reunited with Rose. Now Rose must help the Doctor make the decision that he always had to make before they can continue on to their forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> To alleviate some confusion each section is started with whose point of view that section is from. As well some lines are direct quotes that are altered slightly. This was intentional and not an oversight of mine. Unbetaed. All mistakes are my own.

~Ten~

The Doctor couldn't help be competitive with his future self. It was like second nature. Every single time he encountered a different incarnation of himself he bickered. But when his past self appeared, the one from the war, it wasn't competitiveness. It was unadulterated hate, despise, disgust, whatever you wanted to call it. He had hoped he would never see that face again. All the memories and nightmares that came with it were too much to handle.

He snarled, 'You!'

His past self looked at him and his eleventh incarnation and appraised them. 'Yes. Me. I'm looking for the Doctor. And who are you? Ahh you must be his companions. They get younger all the time.' He waited for them to answer but none came. 'Well then, speak up.'

His future self was affronted. 'Companions?!'

The Doctor ignored the comment and instead viciously pointed his sonic screwdriver at his past self. 'Why are you here?'

His future self instinctively followed suit while his past self stared at them both confused.

After a moment of confusion a dawning of recognition spread across his face. 'You're me? Both of you?' They both nodded but didn't lower their sonics. 'Why are you pointing them like that? They're scientific instruments, not water pistols. What are you going to do? Assemble a cabinet at me?'

The Doctor bared his teeth. 'Answer me! Why did you come here?'

'I told you. I came looking for you.'

The Doctor clenched his jaw and growled, 'Why?'

He didn't get an answer, however because they were suddenly surrounded and promptly found themselves arrested and brought to the tower of London.

 

~War~

The skinnier of this future selves paced around the room and tapped his sonic against his palm as his other self chipped away at a stone pillar.

He studied their faces. 'The way you both look at me. What is that? I'm trying to think of a better word than dread.'

The bad Wolf girl appeared suddenly. 'It's history for them. All decided. They don't know it's still up to you. They don't know that they can help.' She crossed her arms and sat against the wall beside the Doctor.

'Why is the one more venomous than the other?'

'It's fresher for him. The other has forgotten most of the war, most of the pain. The one that forgets...and the one that regrets. He despises you because he despises himself and the mistakes he's made. So much pain in his hearts. So much loneliness.'

'But he can help me? Make this decision?'

The man of topic was rather fidgety. He raised an eyebrow. 'Who are you talking to?'

The Doctor looked at him surprised and caught off guard. 'No one.' The interface had informed him that the others couldn't and shouldn't see her.

Bad Wolf girl nodded toward his future selves. 'Ask them.'

He gave a rattling sigh and reluctantly asked, 'Will... you help me?'

His eleventh incarnation was too focused on what he was doing to answer but his tenth incarnation scoffed. 'Over my dead body.'

Bad Wolf girl stood up. 'He needs someone he trusts.'

The Doctor just nodded in agreement. He watched in interest as she walked forward. Her hands suddenly became covered in blood as she knelt down. A body in a blue pinstriped suit appeared before her and she threw herself over it, her body wracked with sobs.

 

~Ten~

The Doctor let both his hands drop to his side. He stood in shock as Rose, his Rose, suddenly appeared before him. But something was wrong. She was crying. There was blood. She was not alone.

His eyes scanned over the body Rose was clutching. His body, chest soaked with blood. No, not his. It was the metacrisis version of him. And he was dead.

Without thinking he crossed to Rose. He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder but hesitated. Maybe this was only a vision. A hallucination. A hologram. He decided he didn't care and closed the distance. When he made contact he found, much to his surprise, that she was solid. Both of his hearts skipped a beat.

She jumped and pulled away from him. Her eyes were full of terror. 'How?' She glanced quickly between the body and him. 'Is this it? Is this the after life? Am I dead too?' It all came out fast and high pitched, her voice hitching with terror and sobs.

The Doctor knelt down beside her. 'No, Rose. My Rose.' He smiled for the first time since his warrior self had appeared. He knew he shouldn't be smiling as Rose fell apart but he couldn't help it. She was back. 'You're safe. And you are very much alive.'

'But you're dead.' She once again glanced between him and the body at her knees. 'How can you be there, too?'

'Rose. Rose. Shh shh shh. It's me. The Time Lord me. Here.' He grabbed her hand and placed it on his chest so she could feel his two hearts beating. She gasped but didn't pull away. Closing her eyes, she let the feeling of his two hearts beating calm her.

Though he was overjoyed at seeing Rose, the death of his other self was not lost on him. Tears threatened to close up his throat but he fought it back for Rose's sake. As he took her in he could no longer stand the distance between them. Not after all this time apart. He cautiously pulled her in, ignoring the blood that would stain his suit. Relief washed over him when she didn't resist and instead melted into his chest, sobs returning full force. He rocked her softly and soothingly rubbed her back. When she started to calm down he buried his face in her hair. She smelled so good. He had forgotten how much he loved that smell, the smell that was so exclusively Rose.

He mumbled into her hair, 'Tell me what happened.'

 


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose explains what happened to her and the Doctor in the alternate universe. Rose's return causes time to be rewritten for the Doctor.

~Ten~

The Doctor sighed in contentment when Rose pulled him tighter and nuzzled further into his chest before she spoke. 'The new Tardis is fully grown now so we started traveling again. We went to a sort of desert planet. I think he called it Naroga?'

The Doctor nodded. He knew the place. 'That explains the outfit.' He felt more than saw Rose nod her head in confirmation.

'Anyway, we somehow got caught in the middle of a civil war. We were running for cover and-' Her voice caught and she had to take a moment to compose herself. 'He came out of nowhere and-' A sob overtook her voice and she had to choke out the rest. 'He stabbed him. He stabbed the Doctor.' She had started to sound hysterical so she calmed herself before continuing. 'The guy realized we weren't the ones he meant to kill but it was too late. There was so much blood. He faded so fast. I tried-'

The Doctor squeezed her tight. “Shh shh shh. There was nothing you could have done.' He comforted her by rocking her back and forth another moment before he asked the question that had been gnawing at him. 'What happened after that? How did you get here?'

She shook her head then pulled away slightly to look at him. 'I don't know. One minute I was in the middle of a dusty street trying to stop the bleeding and-and the next I looked up and saw you. And I was here.' She looked around and sniffed. 'Where is here?'

Worry creased his forehead. It might not be a good sign if people were suddenly jumping between universes by accident. He pushed the thought aside in favour of giving Rose his full attention. Whatever might be going on with meeting his other selves and her sudden appearance didn't seem to matter as much as having her back. Again. 'The Tower of London,' he replied. '1562.'

 

~Eleven~

The Doctor finished carving the base code into the stone pillar and turned around just as Rose and the blood soaked body appeared. His breath caught in his throat. She was back. _He_ was back. He was dead. The Doctor felt like he already knew this; like a major case of deja vu. He fiddled nervously with the ring on his left hand but froze when he realized what he was doing. He was married? Of course he was married.

Memories, new memories, different memories tore through his mind, a constant onslaught of images. Time was being rewritten. His knees buckled under the weight of the memories, causing him to grab onto the pillar beside him to support himself. He watched as his adventures with Clara were replaced by adventures with Rose. Clara still appeared occasionally, such as when she jumped into his time stream while he was busy holding back Rose, but her appearances were few and far between. The memories were altered as if he were going backward in time. Soon Amy and Rory made appearances. Most of their adventures stayed unaltered but Rose was simply a part of them. The major difference between the old memories and new memories of Amy and Rory was that the gaps between their adventures lessened so that the Doctor was now only 910 years old rather than the approximate 1200 years old that he had been only seconds earlier. As a result several of his solo adventures had no longer happened. River was of course present here and there. Again, their adventures were mostly unaltered with the exception that they had never married and Rose would playfully hit him on the shoulder whenever he acted too flirtatious with her, which was often. He always defended himself by claiming that River started it, which was almost always true. When the onslaught reached his marriage to Rose while he was still in his tenth incarnation he fought to hold on to the memory, to savour it. Too soon it had been pushed out of the way for a new altered memory.

Eventually the onslaught ended and he was left with several new memories while still remembering the original memories. Nine hundred years and it was still a strange experience to remember events that had never happened.

'Oi, Chiny!'

The Doctor snapped his head up. Sandshoes was still on the ground holding Rose but was now addressing him.

'Right, yes. Sorry.' He scratched his head. 'What were you saying?'

'Are you okay?'

'Of course I'm okay. I'm always okay.'

Rose had forced herself to appear composed as she's had to do so often in her life. She leaned into his tenth incarnation and in a low voice asked, 'Who is he?'

He kept his eyes on the Doctor. 'Me.'

'And him?' She nodded toward the youngest of himselves.

'Also...' He swallowed. 'Me.'

'But I thought...'

The Doctor talked with his hands as he paced. 'It's...complicated. You're right, all three of us shouldn't be here at the same time. But you shouldn't be here either. Time is being rewritten because of you. Specifically my time line. I just lost 300 years of my life!'

His tenth incarnation mumbled, 'Well, that's time travel for you.'

'Exactly! And I still have memories of those 300 years, just echos but they're there.'

Suddenly Rose burst through the door. 


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctors and Rose meet Rose's future self.

~Ten~

The Doctor, his past and future selves, and Rose all looked up at the new comer. It was Rose but she was slightly older.

His past self stood up from where he sat against the wall. 'How did you get in here?'

The older Rose pointed at the door with her thumb. 'It was unlocked. Three Doctors and...me and none of you tried the door?'

Young Rose stared at herself. 'Is that...'

The older Rose and the Doctor's eleventh incarnation both at the same time stated, 'It's complicated.'

The Doctor was stunned. This meant she stayed with him. He gets to keep her. He could hardly believe it. Could the universe really be kind for once? His eyes glanced down to Rose's hand. There was a ring. Before he let himself get too excited he noted that it could be from his human duplicate so he glanced down at the Rose still in his arms. Both of his hearts sank when he saw the same ring on her finger. In one last hopeful act of desperation he looked to his future self. There on his finger was a silver band that matched Rose's. He felt like he could cry. She was his. And he was hers. He swallowed around the lump in his throat. Married.

 

~Older Rose~

Rose then realized what her past self and the Doctor were kneeling beside. Her heart dropped into her stomach as a knot formed in her throat. There he lay dead. Again. Her love, covered in blood. She had experienced this once already, why must she see it again? A single tear fell down her face but she quickly sniffed, took a deep breath, and strode to her past self. She grabbed her bloody hands and helped her into a standing position, the Doctor reluctantly letting her go and her past self too shocked to resist.

'Come on. There's nothing left we can do. Let's get you cleaned up. We'll have a proper funeral when there's time.'

Once her past self was standing on her own Rose strode over to her husband, reached in his trouser pocket, and pulled out wet wipes.

Her husband mocked offense. 'Hey! You can't just go into my pocket without my permission!'

'We both know that's a lie, Doctor,' she flirted.

The younger Rose looked at the younger Doctor that had stood up beside her. A small smile tugged at her lips. 'That's our future, yeah?'

The Doctor smiled back at her. He took a deep breath. 'I suppose so.' He looked deep in her eyes and saw his pain reflected back at him. He quickly added, 'But not until you're ready.'

She nodded and softly replied, 'Yeah.'

Rose grabbed the hands of her past self and gently rubbed away at the blood. Once she was as clean as she could get her she moved on to the Doctor standing next to her.

She reached out and grabbed his hand and a tingle spread over her skin. She had forgotten the feeling of this Doctor's touch. Gentle yet rough from all his tinkering. So warm. Her new Doctor was great but he showed his love more emotionally than physically. She paused, relishing the feeling of his hand in hers. She hadn't thought she would ever get this chance to touch him again. Not since he changed. She didn't love him any less since his regeneration but there was something about this version of him that just...fit.

He wasn't pulling away but just stared at her with those love filled eyes. Finally someone coughed and it brought her out of her reverie. She quickly washed his hands then reluctantly let go.

After she looked at all of the others in the room she nodded her head. 'Right. I'm going to take the Doctor's body back with me but you all need to get going.'

Her past self quickly stepped between his body and her, spreading her arms in protection as if to ward herself off. 'No! I'm not leaving him.' Tears choked her voice and her eyes were wild in panic. 'We promised. We promised to never let us get separated ever again.'

'I know, I know. But it's me, Rose. I am you. So you won't be separated. You trust yourself, yeah? I'll bring him to the Tardis where he will be safe. You stay with the Doctor. Em...Doctor _s_. Go take care of those Zygons.'

Without waiting for any further protestations she knelt down by the metacrisis Doctor's body, grabbed hold of him tightly, pressed some buttons on the vortex manipulator that was on her wrist, and disappeared.

 

~Ten~

As soon as she was gone the Doctor turned to the Rose that was still with them, grabbed both of her now clean hands, and looked her straight in the eyes. 'Rose Tyler, it would be my honour to take up his promise to you.' He paused then added, 'If you want.'

New tears fell from Rose's eyes. The Doctor let go of one of her hands to gently wipe the tears away with his thumb, his palm cradling her cheek. Looking at her like this and knowing how many times he missed the chance before made it so he couldn't help himself. He gently tilted her head up, slowly dipped his head, and brought his lips to hers.

Her eyes flew open and she jolted back.

The Doctor's face flushed and he stepped back, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. 'Sorry. That was out of line.'

Rose brought a hand up to her mouth and lightly touched her lips. 'No, it's just you...' But she never finished that sentence. Instead she grabbed the lapels of his suit jacket and pulled him into another, deeper kiss.

A soft moan rumbled deep in his throat. He placed one hand on the small of her back and the other on the back of her head, fingers tangled in her hair. He pulled her close, gently separating her lips with his and deepening the kiss further. She responded in the like, letting her hand play with his hair.

It was everything he dreamed of and more. So very different form when he kissed her in his ninth form, and different still than when Cassandra had used her lips to kiss him. There was a sort of electricity about her that energized him and sent him flying.

Suddenly they heard a throat being cleared and they sprung apart. 


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctors and Rose leave the Tower of London and reunite with their Tardis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. This chapter gave me a lot of trouble and I just started my new job. But here it is! Hope you enjoy!

~War~  
The Doctor waited patiently, allowing his future self to have a moment of reunion. However, he felt it may never end and that perhaps they had forgotten that they were not alone. He politely cleared his throat and as he suspected they sprung apart as if they had forgotten about the other two people present.  
He clasped his hands behind his back. 'Sorry to interrupt but I believe there are Zygons that need addressing.'  
The tenth incarnation of the Doctor stepped away from Rose and cleared his throat. 'Yes. Yes, there are.' He pulled at his earlobe and cringed in embarrassment. 'Sorry.'  
The Doctor nodded in reply then started pacing. 'What I don't understand is why wasn't the door locked? It should have been locked.'  
His eldest self stepped forward. 'That is a very good point. Why wasn't it locked?'  
'Because I was fascinated to see what you would do upon escaping.' Queen Elizabeth stepped into the doorway. 'As I understand you're rather fond of this world. It's time I think you saw what's going to happen to it.'  
The Queen, or Zygon, quickly explained how the Zygons needed a new world as there's was destroyed in the Time War. However, the era they currently were in was too primitive so they needed a way to get to the future. Through discussion the three Doctors and Rose quickly discovered that they were planning to invade the future from the past by using Time Lord art. The status cube in the possession of the Zygons created paintings that were bigger on the inside by creating an instance frozen in time. The status cube, they realized, could be deployed as suspended animation. The zygons used this to hide in the paintings and bide their time until the earth was advanced enough for them to take over. 

~Younger Rose~  
Rose watched as her Doctor explained to the Zygon Queen how he knew she was a fake and couldn't help but giggle when it was revealed that he was wrong. She found great enjoyment in him backtracking and trying to fix what he had just said. He really hadn't changed since they were parted. She stifled her laughter and paid attention to what the Queen was saying.  
'The future of my Kingdom is in peril. Doctor, can I depend on your service?'  
Her Doctor scratched the back of his neck. 'Well, I'll need my Tardis.'  
'It has been procured already. But first, my love, you have a promise to keep.'   
Rose's face scrunched in confusion. A promise? What promise? And did she just call him her love?

~Ten~  
The Doctor realized he was in a bit of predicament now that Rose was back. He grabbed Rose's hand and lead her away from the Queen after quickly excusing themselves.  
He grabbed both of Rose's hands and stared straight into her eyes. 'There is something very important you should know.' He glanced over his shoulder at the Queen.  
Rose looked quizzical. 'What?'  
'Umm...I'm engaged.'  
Rose was taken aback. 'Oh!' She let go of the Doctor's hands and broke his eye contact, looking at her feet. 'Right. I shouldn't have...'  
'No no no no. It was an accident.'  
Rose crossed her arms. 'How do you accidentally get engaged?'  
The Doctor nervously pulled at his ear lobe. 'I was testing to see if she was a Zygon. I figured if she accepted my proposal then she'd be the Zygon because the Queen would never accept the proposal of someone she barely knew but...' He exhaled sharply. 'I was wrong. And now...' His voice went up an octave. 'I'm going to be King!'   
Rose let her hands fall to her side. 'Do you have to marry her? Couldn't we just get in the Tardis and fly away?'   
He wobbled his head back and forth. 'Theoretically. But you heard her, she won't let me have the Tardis until I've kept my promise. We'll only be married as long as she's alive though so we'll just never come back.'  
Rose nodded. 'Alright.'  
'Good. But for now I have to play the role. Sorry.' 

As soon as he said his I dos he grabbed Rose's hand and ran, his other selves trailing behind them. They entered his Tardis and after a second the control room stuttered, sparked, and changed to a design that he hadn't seen for centuries.  
He jumped back from the console. 'The desktop is glitching!'  
His younger self glanced around. 'Three of us from different time zones. It's trying to compensate.'   
His older self smiled and pointed at the walls with his thumb. “Hey, look! The round things!”  
The Doctor replied, “I love the round things.”  
“What are the round things?”  
“No idea.”   
His older self suddenly jumped. 'Oh, dear, the friction contrafibulator!' He flipped a switch and the control room changed again. 'Ah, there. Stabilized.'   
The Doctor looked around at the new design. 'Oh! You've redecorated. I don't like it.'  
His older self approached him. 'Oh, yeah? Oh, you never do.'   
'Hey, boys. When you're done bickering about your Tardis...'  
Everyone snapped their heads toward the voice and saw the older Rose sitting on the jump seat with her ankles crossed and propped on the console like the Doctor had done so many times.   
The Doctor cocked his head to the side and appraised her. 'How long have you been there?'  
She uncrossed her legs and placed her feet on the ground. 'Longer than you have. Just sitting here minding my own business and you four just pop right up out of thin air.'  
His older self pointed at her using both of his hands. 'Oh! Oh, yes.' He clapped his hands then rung them together. 'When the desktop was unstable we were in a different time zone within the Tardis. When it stabilized-'  
The Doctor bounded over to the older Rose. '-we were zapped into this time zone where the lovely Rose was waiting for us.' A grin lit up his face. 'Brilliant!'   
His younger self glanced down at her hands which were fiddling with something that occasionally reflected the light from the time rotor. 'What have you got in your hands?'  
'Oh!' She jumped up and started walking toward the Doctor then paused and took a half step toward her younger self then stopped in her tracks. She looked between the two, undecided. 'Umm...it's...it's his ring. I don't know who should have it now.'  
For a minute no one moved or said a word. Finally the Doctor closed the distance between himself and the older Rose and plucked the ring from her fingers. He then slowly crossed to the younger Rose, examining the ring with fascination as he did so. He grabbed her hand in his and gently placed the ring in her palm then closed her fingers around it.   
He stared straight into her eyes and murmured, 'For when you're ready. Any direction our relationship goes is in your hands.' He glanced back at her hand holding the ring and added, 'Literally.' He cocked his head and gave her a wink then bounded away from her toward his other selves. 

~Younger Rose~  
Rose froze when her husband's ring was revealed. Her whole body tensed and it suddenly became hard to breathe. Panic welled up in her when she saw the Time Lord version of her husband take the ring from her older self. Everything in her screamed that it didn't belong to him but she was still frozen in her spot and her throat had closed up. When he approached her with the ring she fought to stop her body from trembling but when he placed the ring in her hand relief crashed over her and jolted her back to normal.  
She fingered the ring and sheepishly looked to her other self. 'Where is he?'


	5. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew is back in the Tardis preparing for the next step in their adventure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is fairly short. It was either end it now, end it in a really weird spot, or have it twice as long as any other chapter which I really don't like doing. I dedicate this chapter to ktrose as she gave the idea for like half its plot.

~Older Rose~  
Rose donned a compassionate smile that both gave reassurance and masked her own pain. 'I put him in the infirmary. He's safe there.'  
Her younger self looked at her feet. 'Can I see him?'  
Rose looked to her husband. He answered, 'I think you best not. We're running short on time.'  
The younger Rose whipped around to face him. 'We have a time machine!'  
He rung his hands and stepped toward her. 'Yes. But that doesn't mean time behaves itself. Sorry.'  
Rose ran her hand down her husband's arm. 'We can survive without her for awhile, yeah? You've got me don't ya? Let her stay with him for now.'  
He smiled sweetly down at her. 'You're probably right.'  
And with that her younger self was off running down the corridors of the Tardis, trusting herself to find the infirmary.  
When the younger Rose had turned the corner and disappeared into the Tardis the Doctor's eleventh incarnation approached the console and started kicking the Tardis into gear.  
'Alright, then! We're going to the National Gallery. The Zygons are underneath it.'  
Rose jumped to attention. 'No! UNIT, HQ. They followed us there. In the Black Archive.' All three Doctors gave her a solemn look. 'Oh. You've heard of that.'  
After a moment's pause the tension broke and Rose positioned herself beside her husband as he sent the Tardis into the vortex. 'So...sixteenth century England?'  
He distractedly nodded. 'Yes.'  
'The one time you promised to never go back to?'  
He stopped what he was doing and looked up from the console. 'Oh.'  
'The time when you're married to another woman?'  
He turned to her, cringing. 'Right, yes. Sorry.'  
The tenth incarnation of the Doctor slipped past his older self and muttered, 'Someone's in troooouuble.'  
The eldest looked back and forth between the older Rose and his younger self. 'Oi! It's not like I chose this!' He pointed at both of his other selves. 'They brought me here.'  
His skinnier version pointed a finger at his face. 'Don't go pinning this on us.'  
Suddenly the Tardis lurched as if it had crashed into something, effectively halting their banter and bringing them back to the more pressing matter at hand.

~Eleven~  
The youngest of the three Doctors inquired, 'What was that?'  
The Doctor looked up at him with worry on his face. 'We can't land.' He quickly moved over to the other side of the console and flipped a couple switches. 'But never mind that. I need to get in contact with Kate.' He flicked one more switch and static filled up the control room. 'Aha! Science leads, Kate. Is that what you meant? Is that what your father meant?'  
They heard the woman in question's voice overtake the static. 'Doctor?'  
'Space-time telegraph, Kate. A gift from me to your father. Hotline straight to the Tardis. I know about the Black Archive, and I know about the security protocol. You can't use it. You can't destroy London. Kate, please.' He gritted his teeth and tensely shook his hands. 'Please tell me you are not about to do something unbelievably stupid.'  
'I'm sorry, Doctor.'  
His tenth incarnation lent on the console, bringing his voice closer to the telegraph's microphone. 'Not as sorry as you will be. This is not a decision you will ever be able to live with.'  
The Doctor made meaningful eye contact with his younger self, exchanging a moment of shared grief. He was vaguely aware of his youngest self watching them quizzically.  
The Tardis shuddered a second time as it tried to land again.  
The Doctor grabbed on to the console and groaned. 'Kate! We're trying to bring the Tardis in! Why can't we land?'  
It was then that the telegraph cut out.  
His tenth incarnation inhaled sharply and looked at the roof. 'Tower of London. Totally Tardis proof.'  
Rose crossed her arms and tilted her head. 'How can they do that?'  
The Doctor looked at her. 'Alien technology, plus human stupidity. Trust me, it's unbeatable.'  
The youngest Doctor stared into space, thinking. 'We don't need to land.'  
The skinniest Doctor's voice went up an octave as he addressed his comment. 'Yeah, we do, a tiny bit. Try to keep up.'  
It didn't take long for the most war torn of the three to explain his idea to use the statis cube and after a quick call to make arrangements they found themselves walking through the long forgotten streets of Gallifrey.


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Tardis infiltrates the Black Archive

~Older Rose~  
Rose walked through the burning streets of Gallifrey as if in a dream. All those times he had described his home world to her she never imagined it as this, broken and dying. Buildings were falling down, the silver leaves of the trees were on fire, children were screaming, and Daleks surrounded them. She watched half in awe and half in horror as the three versions of her husband blew up a Dalek with the combined forces of their sonic screwdrivers. They stood there both majestic and terrifying, someone not to be trifled with. This was the man she was in love with.  
The remainder of the Dalek that had been blasted away from them broke open the link to their current time on earth and the Doctors followed it out into the Black Archive. Rose followed after them, not far behind.   
She watched the youngest of her Doctors with compassion as he soaked in his older selves admitting that destroying Gallifrey was wrong. Pride bubbled up in her chest as they worked together to force the Humans and the Zygons into discussing a treaty and a smirk played across her mouth at how alike his two eldest selves were. Perfectly in sync. Perfectly hers.   
As the two Kates debated back and forth Rose carefully approached the youngest of the Doctors and pulled up a chair in front of him as he drank from a thermos of tea.  
'Hello.'  
He put down his tea on the arm of the chair he was sitting in. 'Hello.'  
'I'm Rose. We haven't really met yet, I suppose.'   
'No I suppose not. Not this you.'  
Rose cocked her head in confusion. 'Sorry?'  
He sat up straighter. 'Oh, never mind that. Just this old brain.'   
Rose stared at him in a sort of wonder.  
The Doctor looked back at her. 'Is there a problem?'  
'The Doctor...my Doctor...Doctors...oh, this is all so confusing. He is always talking about the day he did it. The day he wiped out the Time Lords to stop the war.'  
He looked her straight in the eyes. 'One would.'  
'You wouldn't. 'Cause you haven't done it yet. It's still in your future.'  
'You're very sure of yourself.'   
'He regrets it. I see it in his eyes everyday. And I'd know. I stare in to those eyes a lot.' She flashed a tongue touched smile and gave him a wink then sighed. 'He'd do anything to change it.'  
'Including saving all these people. How many worlds has his regret saved, do you think? Look over there, Humans and Zygons working together in peace. How did you know?”  
Rose gave him a small smile. “Your eyes. You're so young.”  
“Then all things considered, it's time I grew up.” 

~War~  
The Doctor looked over the shoulder of Rose and saw...Rose. He startled. They had left her on the Tardis. How did she suddenly get here?   
The Rose in front of him looked over her shoulder and stared at just the wrong spot as if she didn't see this new Rose. 'What?'  
He realized that this must not be Rose after all but rather Bad Wolf Girl, the Moment. 'I thought you became her.'  
Bad Wolf girl shook her head. 'Oh no. I only brought her back. I'm not her. Well...I am her. I suppose in a way. She did create me.' Her eyes glowed gold and her voice changed slightly. 'I am the bad wolf. I create myself.' When the Doctor stared at her confused, her eyes and voice went back to normal and she continued, 'Oh. That must not have happened for you yet. Time is such a fickle thing, always in the wrong order. Oh well, you'll understand one day. We are separate beings. I simply left because I didn't think you needed me with her there. But now you do.'  
'You're right. I've seen all I needed. The moment has come. I'm ready.'  
'I know you are.'   
He was vaguely aware of the corporeal Rose asking, 'Who's there?' before he suddenly found himself back in the barn, standing in front of the Moment. The square box now had a red, rose shaped button protruding out of the top of it.  
'Well, you wanted a big red button.' The Doctor didn't look to the Bad Wolf Girl, but simply listened to her voice as he stared at the button. 'One big bang. No more Time Lords, no more Daleks. Are you sure?'   
'I was sure when I came in here. There is no other way.'   
The Bad Wolf girl stared at him intently. 'You've seen the men you will become.'  
'Those men? Extraordinary.'   
A smile tugged at her lips. 'They were you.'   
The Doctor gave his head a small shake. 'No. They are the Doctor.'   
'You're the Doctor, too.'  
'No. Great men are forged in fire.' He looked at the button again. 'It is the privilege of lesser men to light the flame. Whatever the cost.'   
His hand hovered over the button, slowly inching closer to it until he was stopped by the Bad Wolf Girl's voice. 'You know the sound the Tardis makes? That wheezing groaning?' The Doctor pulled his hand away from the button. 'That sound brings hope wherever it goes.'   
'Yes. Yes, I like to think it does.'   
'To anyone that hears it, Doctor. ' A grin spread across her face as the sound in question filled the air. 'Even you.'  
The Doctor turned as two Tardises materialized in front of him. The doors slowly creaked open and his two older selves stepped out.


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally arrive at the abandoned barn.

~Ten~  
The Doctor lent against the infirmary door frame and watched Rose as she dozed by her husband's body. It was an odd scene to behold, so peaceful yet so tragic. He softly called her name and she stirred slightly. He called it again and she bolted up straight, dazed and looking around.  
Her eyes finally fell on him. 'Oh, hello.'  
'Hello, Rose.'  
She looked at the spot behind him then looked back at him. 'Where's everybody else?'  
The Doctor used his thumb to point behind and to the right of him. 'In the control room. Well, our older selves are. Grandad disappeared somewhere.' He pushed off from the door frame and took a few steps toward her. 'Come, on. We're going to transfer him to my Tardis.'  
He walked over to her and pulled her away from his duplicate's body. Once she had let him go he scooped him up in his arms and carried him out the door with Rose following close behind. They nodded at their other selves as they passed through the control room and out the door.  
Rose watched him carefully as they walked to his Tardis that was parked right beside the one they had just been in. 'Where do you think he disappeared to?'  
'Hmm?'  
'Your younger self.'  
The Doctor allowed Rose to step ahead of him to open the Tardis door. 'I'd imagine he's gone to destroy Gallifrey.'  
Rose entered behind him and followed as they headed for the infirmary. 'Is that where we're going, then? To Gallifrey?'  
The Doctor froze and his face set into a steely resolve. 'No.'  
'Why not?'  
'I'm not going back there.'  
After he had carefully placed the body on the bed she grabbed his now free hand and pulled it toward her. 'He needs you.'  
The Doctor pulled his hand out of hers and turned away. 'I'm not going to help him.'  
She tugged on his sleeve. 'You can't let him do it. At least not on his own. Not again.'  
He turned back around to face her and stared into her eyes. 'I just can't, Rose. That was the darkest day of my life and I can't go back there.'  
'That's exactly why he needs you. It's the darkest day of his life and he shouldn't have to face it alone. You shouldn't have to face it alone.'  
His steely resolve slowly melted as she looked up at him, tears edging into her pleading eyes. He finally sighed. 'Alright. Are you going to come with me?'  
Rose nodded.  
The Doctor jerked his head toward the hall. 'Then let's go.'  
The Tardis landed and he slowly and carefully opened the door with a creak. He immediately noticed that his older self had landed at the same time as him and they were both leaving their Tardises simultaneously. He appreciated how in sync they kept finding themselves to be.  
He stepped all the way out of the Tardis, allowing room for Rose to exit behind him, and stared at his younger self.  
He saw out of his periphery the older Rose leaving the Tardis behind his older self and softly whispering, 'I told you he hadn't done it yet'.  
All four of them froze, facing the youngest of the Doctors that stood by a box with a big red button sticking out the top.

~War~  
The Doctor turned away from his other selves. 'Go away, now. All of you. This is for me.'  
The skinny one took a half step toward him and pointed a finger at him. 'Oh no. It took a lot for me to come here and I won't be turning back now. We shouldn't even be able to be here. These events should be time-locked.'  
His eleventh incarnation glanced to his tenth. 'So something let us through.'  
The Doctor startled when Bad Wolf Girl spoke. 'You clever boys.'  
He ignored her. 'Go. Go be the Doctor I could never be.'  
His tenth incarnation took another reluctant step forward and let out a sigh full of both resignation and pity. 'All those years burying you in my memory. Pretending you didn't exist. Keeping you a secret, even from myself. Pretending you weren't the Doctor, when you were the Doctor more than anybody else. You were the Doctor on the day it wasn't possible to get it right.  
His eleventh incarnation stepped forward as well. 'But this time you don't have to do it alone.'  
The Doctor inhaled and let it out slowly. 'Thank you.'  
His two other selves joined him at the box that held the power to destroy worlds and placed their hands on top of his over the big red button.  
His second eldest self looked him in the eyes. 'What we do today is not out of fear or hatred. It is done because there is no other way.'  
His eldest self finished, 'And it is done in the name of the many lives we are failing to save.'  
Both Roses were watching from a distance, tears in their eyes timidly shaking their heads.  
When the two older Doctors saw this they simultaneously asked, 'What?'  
They both murmed, 'Nothing.'  
The eldest Doctor shook his head. 'No. Something.'  
The tenth incarnation looked from one Rose to another. 'Tell us.'  
The younger Rose took a small step forward. 'You always talked about how you were alone 'cause your people died. How you had killed them.'  
The older Rose stepped up next to her and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. 'We just never pictured you doing it.'  
Bad Wolf Girl leaned forward and spoke in almost a whisper. 'Take a closer look.'

~Ten~  
Suddenly the Doctor found himself in the middle of the war. He recognized immediately that it was just an image, preventing what would otherwise result in a panic attack.   
The younger Rose, however wasn't so calm. 'What's happening?'   
He stepped over to her and slipped his hand into hers, entangling their fingers. 'It's just a projection.'   
Both of the Roses stood frozen to the ground, looking around at the image surrounding them. The older Rose's mouth hung slightly open in shock but the younger Rose's sad face transformed into one of fury.   
The younger Rose angrily turned on the Doctor in a way that was just so very Rose. Unnerved and intimidated, he took a step back.   
'These are the people you killed? They're just children! How could...I never thought...kids...you?'   
She turned her back on him and started to walk away but he grabbed her hand again. 'Rose...if there was any other way.'  
She whirled back toward him, pulling her hand out of his. 'THERE HAS TO BE!'  
The older Rose slowly stepped toward them, thumb nail between her teeth. 'There might be.'


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctors save Gallifrey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is almost completely the same as the episode so just hang in there. Things will pick up and deviate a bit more in the next few chapters!

~Ten~  
All three Doctors turned toward her with confused looks and hmms and huhs. The projection faded and they found themselves back in the old barn.  
She dropped her hand to her side. 'Well, we're right in the middle, surrounded, yeah?' All three nodded. 'So they're all firing right at us from all angles.' They continued nodding. 'So...if Gallifrey wasn't there...'  
The younger Rose caught on, eyes shooting wide. 'Oh!'  
The Doctor's eyebrows knitted together. 'Oh what?'  
The fury had left the younger Rose entirely as the gears of her brain turned. 'You know when someone throws something at you and you duck and it hits the person behind you?'  
The older Rose jumped in. 'What if we moved Gallifrey?'   
He shook his head. 'Impossible.'  
Young Rose stepped toward him. 'But it's been done before. With the Daleks!'  
He sighed. 'We don't have that technology anymore. And even if we did we can't just move Gallifrey, kill all those...things...and expect the war to be over. The Time Lords they...'  
She slipped her hand into his again and looked up at him. 'What?'  
'They're not...the mighty race I've made them out to be. Not all of them. The government is corrupt. The war would just start up again somewhere else with new armies. I agree the Time Lords should live but they can't be free to start more unending wars.'  
'What about that stasis cube...thing?' She waved her hand around as she tried to recall.  
The youngest Doctor grabbed his grey hair. 'Oh! Oh yes, that is good! That is brilliant!'  
The Doctor jumped up in excitement. 'Oh! Oh, I'm getting that too! That is brilliant!' He grabbed Rose's head and kissed her forehead, grin stretching from ear to ear with pride. 'Gallifrey would be tucked away. Frozen. Frozen in an instant of time, safe and hidden away. But also contained.'  
His older self cut in. 'Exactly...'  
'Like a painting,' his younger self finished. 'Oh, you girls are brilliant! She didn't just show me my future. She got me exactly the help I needed!'  
Both the Doctor and his older self turned to him. 'She?' But their younger self ignored their question.  
Granddad blew a kiss to the air. 'Oh, Bad Wolf girl I could kiss you!'  
The girl in question sat, swinging her feet. 'Yup, that's gonna happen...as you saw.'  
The Doctor glanced at both Roses then back at his younger self. 'Did you say 'Bad Wolf?'' Again, the question was ignored.

Not much later the big red button was back in the box, everyone was back in their respective Tardises, the three Tardises were hovering around Gallifrey, and the Doctors had patched through to the Gallifrey High Command.   
The Doctor saw the High Command pop up on his scanner and heard his older self introduce himself as the Doctor. 'Hello! Also the Doctor. Can you hear me?' You never can be certain with his Tardis' temperament.   
His younger self chimed in. 'Also the Doctor. Standing ready.'   
The general scanned across the Doctor's screen, supposedly looking at his counterparts. 'Dear God. Three of them. All my worst nightmares at once.'   
The Doctor looked him straight on. 'General, we have a plan.'  
He heard his older self add, 'We should point out at this moment that it is a fairly terrible plan, and almost certainly won't work.' His Rose playfully hit him on the shoulder.  
The Doctor rolled his eyes. 'I was happy with fairly terrible.'  
'Sorry, I was just thinking aloud. We are flying our three Tardises into your lower atmosphere.'  
The Doctor checked the Tardis' system. 'We're positioned at equidistant intervals around the globe.'   
His Rose nudged him. 'Equidistant? So grown-up.'   
He tried to hide his smile but failed. 'Shush, you.'   
He vaguely heard his younger self mutter, 'Just about ready to do it.'   
The General practically stamped his foot in frustration. 'Ready to do what?'  
His older self explained, 'We're going to freeze Gallifrey.'   
The General looked both confused and almost offended. 'I'm sorry? What?'   
The Doctor looked straight into the scanner and spoke as clearly as he could. 'Using our Tardises, we're gonna freeze Gallifrey in a single moment in time.'   
His younger self further explained. It was as if the three of them really were the same person, working as a team with himself. 'You know, like those stasis cubes? Single moment in time, held in a parallel pocket universe.'  
His older self jumped in, 'Except we're going to do it to a whole planet.'  
The Doctor finished, 'And all the people on it.'   
The General looked between the screens that the Doctors were displayed on. 'What? Even if that were possible, which it isn't, why would you do such a thing?'  
The Doctor stared right at the General. 'Because the alternative is burning. And I've seen that. And I never want to see it again.'   
The General shook his head indignantly. 'We'd be lost in another universe frozen in a single moment. We'd have nothing.'  
'You would have hope.'   
'It's delusional. Why, the calculations alone would take hundreds of years.'   
'Oh, hundreds and hundreds!' The Doctor shook his head slightly. 'But don't worry. I started a very long time ago. You might say I've been doing this all my lives.' He grinned as he heard all of his past selves check in.   
The General's eyes flew wide open. 'I didn't know when I was well off. All twelve of them!'   
The Doctor's ears perked when he heard an unfamiliar voice ring out. 'No, sir! All thirteen!'   
The Daleks caught on that something was happening, increasing their fire power and creating chaos. The High Comand room toppled back and forth until the General finally made a decision.   
'Do it, Doctor. Just do it. Do it!'   
The Doctor heard his eldest form confirm, 'Okay. Gentlemen, we're ready. Geronimo!'   
The Doctor flipped a lever then replied with, 'Allons-y!'  
His younger self groaned. 'Oh, for God's sake. Gallifrey stands!'   
The thirteen Tardises orbited around Gallifrey, faster and faster, until a bright light flashed and Gallifrey disappeared.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conclusion of the part of this fic based on the Day of the Doctor and a funeral for Tentoo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a little short. I just couldn't see this chapter ending at any other point.

~Young Rose~  
Now that they had dealt with Gallifrey there was one more important thing to do before they went their separate ways.  
'Bad Wolf Bay.'  
Her Doctor grabbed both her hands and looked at her, eyebrows knitted together in concern. 'Are you sure?'  
Rose nodded. 'It's where we started so I think that's where we should end.'  
Not long after, the three Doctors and two Roses were standing on the beach that had held so much pain for the Doctor. He had lost her twice on this beach and now the two eldest Doctors held on to each of their Rose's hand tightly, afraid to lose her a third time.  
The group had built a funeral pyre which was now ablaze in front of them, the metacrisis Doctor disappearing among the flames as they watched. 

~War~  
The flames reflected in the Doctor's eyes as he thought back on their day. 'I don't suppose we'll ever know if we actually succeeded. But at worst, we failed doing the right thing, as opposed to succeeding at doing the wrong.' The others simply nodded and silence fell for several more moments. Finally he turned toward his older selves. 'Well, gentlemen, it has been an honour and a privilege. And if I grow to be half the man that you are...Rose.' He glanced between the two women. 'I shall be happy indeed.' Both Roses flashed him a tongue touched smile. Looking back at the fire he posed the question he was dreading. 'I won't remember this, will I?'  
His skinniest of him inhaled sharply. 'The time streams are out of sync. No, you can't retain it.'  
'So I won't remember that I tried to save Gallifrey, rather than burn it. And I have to live with that.' He turned back toward the others again. 'But for now, for this moment, I am the Doctor again.' He smiled. 'Thank you.' He patted down his pockets as if he had anything he might have left behind. 'I better be off.' He turned around and saw the three Tardises. 'Which one is mine? Ha!' He climbed into the rattiest of the Tardises and with the familiar groaning he was gone.

~Eleven~  
The Doctor continued to stare at the flames. 'We should leave as well.'  
His Rose squeezed his hand tight. 'I wanna stay 'till the end.'  
The Doctor nodded and they all fell back in to silence. No one spoke until the flames began to die down.  
At that point his Rose let go of his hand and approached her younger self. She grabbed both of her hands and stared into her eyes. 'It hurts now, but it won't always. He'll help. I promise. It's weird at first but just follow your heart, yeah?' She nodded in response. 'Right. Well, I'll see you in the mirror a few years from now.'  
The younger Rose sniffed then giggled through her tears. 'Not if I see you first.'  
Hands shook, and hugs were given then the second Tardis was disappearing with its groaning.

~Young Rose~  
'Can we stay here tonight?'  
The Doctor brushed hair out of her eyes. 'Of course. Let me just...'  
Rose stayed by the fire as she watched the Doctor quickly walk to the Tardis and disappear inside. A moment later he emerged with a blanket and a pillow. 'I don't need to sleep,' he explained. 'But you do. When you're ready we can camp out right here. I'll make sure you don't catch on fire.' He winked at her and clicked his tongue.  
She giggled again and wiped her nose with her sleeve, letting him drape the blanket around her shoulders.  
They settled down in the sand and she leaned into him. He carefully extracted his arm and wrapped it around her blanketed shoulders and smiled softly when she snuggled into his chest. They sat in silence for hours. Rose's breath eventually slowed down and she fell asleep against the Doctor, pillow completely abandoned.


	10. Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctors have all returned to their proper timelines and the metacrisis Doctor has been put to rest. Now, a year later, Rose is ready to move on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because it's down to just Rose and the Tenth Doctor, the point of views will now simply be 'Rose' and 'Doctor'. Also, I am so sorry this took so long to update. I had major writer's block on this one.

~Rose~  
Rose sat on the jump seat twirling his wedding ring between her fingers. The Doctor was in the galley grabbing a bite to eat, so she had some alone time to herself. She found peace in the thrumming and movement of the time rotor.  
It had been a year since he had died and in that time she learned a few things about the Doctor. Leaving her on the beach for the second time had done more damage than she had thought. Without a companion, let alone her, he had gone down a self destructive path and now had to heal from that. Along with coping with his damage, Rose also had to adjust to being back with the Time Lord version of the Doctor. She had forgotten about certain differences between him and her part human husband. The most substantial being how closed off this version of him could be. It reminded her that while he was still the Doctor, he was also a different man. She wasn't replacing her husband, she was moving on.  
She swallowed the lump in her throat, put the ring back in her pocket, and got up from the jump seat. Today was the day. She loved the Doctor. All versions of him. She wished she hadn't needed a year to tell him but it had taken a while to not see his dead body every time she looked at him. He had been so patient with her sudden melt downs and need for extended time alone. Now she had finished her mourning. Today was the day to move on.  
Rose flew around the console flipping switches, pulling levers, and slamming buttons. The Tardis lurched as it entered the time vortex and sent them on their way.  
'We going somewhere?'   
Though she had been expecting him, she jumped at the sound of his voice. She turned and allowed a smile to push its way through her nerves. 'I thought some sightseeing.'  
The Doctor flashed a goofy grin. 'Alright, Rose Tyler.' He hugged her and kissed the top of her head. 'I'm still getting used to you flying the Tardis by yourself.'  
Rose closed her eyes and let herself relax into his embrace. 'Mmmm. I had a good teacher.'  
'Thanks.'  
Her smile widened. 'Too bad you weren't there.'   
He let her go and feigned affront. 'I taught you the basics!' She responded by flashing him a tongue touched grin. 'So, where are you taking us?'  
'You'll see.'  
The Doctor paced around the console, stroking it as he walked. 'Oh, come on. You can tell me.'  
Rose giggled. 'Nope. It's a surprise.'  
He made his way back to her and brought her back into his embrace. 'Fine. But it better be brilliant.'  
She bit her bottom lip and mumbled her response. 'I'm counting on it.'  
The Tardis landed, causing them to both stumble.   
Rose motioned to the door. 'You first.'   
He flashed a toothy grin then ran for the door, jacket flying behind him. Rose stepped out behind him in time to see him freeze where he stood. She stepped up beside him and slipped her hand into his. He squeezed her hand but continued to look at the scenery. They stood on volcanic rock looking out at a beautiful sunset. Manta rays flew among tall stone structures that littered the horizon.   
'Why here?'  
'Do you remember what you asked me last time we were here?'  
The Doctor glanced down at Rose. 'How long are you going to stay with me?' He tilted his head back as the memory washed over him. 'You told me forever.'   
Rose moved in front of him, taking out the ring as she did. 'It's my turn.' She pressed her hand against his chest, trapping the ring between them. 'How long are you going to stay with me?'   
The Doctor looked down at her hand. His eyes widened when he realized what was digging into his chest. He looked back up at her, taking a moment to commit this moment to memory. 'Forever.' Rose sighed in relief, eliciting a chuckle from the Doctor. 'What did you expect?' All humour fell from his face. He covered the hand on his chest with his own. 'Rose Tyler, I have loved you since big ears and leather jackets. There is nothing more that I'd like in all the universes than to marry you.'   
Rose took her hand back so she could slide the ring onto his finger. Huge grins split both their faces, promptly replaced by a passionate kiss. They held each other painfully tight, as though they were afraid the universe might take this from them.   
When they broke apart Rose traced her finger along the ring. 'Is it okay that it's−'  
'Shh, shh, shh. It's perfect.' He brought her hand up to his lips and placed a chaste kiss across her knuckles.   
Rose closed her eyes in contentment. 'I love you.'  
He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. 'I love you too.'


End file.
